Clinton urges Mideast foes to resume talks

Published: Friday, October 13, 2000

WASHINGTON {AP} His dream of Middle East peace shattered by a dramatic escalation of violence, President Clinton implored Palestinians and Israelis "to stop the bloodshed, to restore calm" and begin talking rather than fighting.

"I call on both sides to undertake a cease-fire immediately, and immediately to condemn all acts of violence" a somber Clinton said Thursday after a Palestinian mob killed three Israeli soldiers and Israel retaliated with rocket attacks on Yasser Arafat's residential compound.

The sense of crisis was heightened by an apparent terrorist attack on a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, that killed five Americans as the ship was being refueled at Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. Twelve sailors were missing and 36 were injured.

"If, as it now appears, this was an act of terrorism, it was a despicable and cowardly act," the president said, standing before cameras in the Rose Garden. "We will find out who was responsible and hold them accountable."

Clinton returned to the White House from Chappaqua, N.Y., where he celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife, Hillary. What was planned as a day of golf was replaced by crisis meetings.

The president conferred with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger. He also talked by phone with Arafat twice and with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"All the leaders share the president's concern that we have to ramp down the violence" before it escalates further, said National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Toward the evening, Clinton had spoken with Mubarak several times and had a joint phone call with Mubarak and Arafat, said White House spokesman Jake Siewert. He declined to reveal what they discussed.

Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, suggested that Clinton shares some of the blame.

"This violence was all too predictable, given the heavy pressure put on the Israelis and the Palestinians to come to a peace agreement," Helms said in a written statement. "Neither the Israeli people nor the Palestinian leadership was ready for an agreement of the kind being pushed on them at Camp David. It was a mistake to try to force them to do so."

Vice President Al Gore hurried to the White House from the presidential campaign trail. Clinton canceled evening appearances at two fund-raisers and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

A legacy-minded Clinton has made Mideast peacemaking a foreign policy priority, only to encounter disappointment after disappointment with the collapse of the Camp David summit, diplomatic failures and a resumption of violence.

"We are greatly concerned that instances of this kind can easily escalate into something even more dangerous," Crowley said. "The president understands how serious this situation is and we are doing everything in our power to prevent a further escalation."